Friday, March 23, 2012

Poem: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

What a sensuous sinewy name she has, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, as if she were born to be a poet, which she was. And aware, outraged, alive.

Her collection Love Cake (Tsar Productions) was another of the Lambda Literary nominees for best lesbian poetry (see yesterday's posting, and tomorrow's and so on). The poem "noise" was published in Lodestar Quarterly. Note that the poem is from Spring 2004. The essence of the poet is in every cell and line though the poet grows and changes.

Love Cake, eh? Ha ha ha. Small, independent bookseller, here I come. As for biographical or background information, the note at Lodestar Quarterly (click on the name above) is a good start.

HTML is running wild, by the way. The poem is intended to be double-spaced and this intro single. Breath between lines and savor the words.

noise

by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

if a girl screams in a forestin an oil field on firein a immigration holdin cell motel by the airportand CNN doesn't tell itno reporters embedded to witness does she make a sound?does her voicespread over galaxiesneutrons milky waysmars and jupitercloser than they've ever beendoes she make a sound anddoes anyone give a fuck.
if a girl screams on a street cornerhustling her ass if she wakes up to a man in her bedwho wasn't there when she turned the light offif girl gets followed home from her job stripping in front of a digi-camdoes it make a sound?if the papers say she isn't quite a girland may live or have livedin a house the neighbors may or may not refer to as "a crack house"what sound does her scream make?
if a girl is so hungryhas no moneywants all the peaches and melon that drip off the shelvesof the market in summerbut goes home and eats dandelion greensfrom her backyardis she too hungry to make any noise?if she is a poet not all up inin MA and BAand most of all BSdo her words get picked up on the satellitesthat pick up everything?
if they recruit a whole army of girlsgirls who look just like us but not quitetits asses and skin mouthing their words on the screen for themwhere do our voices go?
listen. we are all making noiseeven when our sound is too scared too hungrytoo dead to be picked upby radarcup your ear hard.listen.